Tag: Vacation

West Hollywood extended stay hotels

john 1 Comment

Just back from a stay in West Hollywood. Stayed at “Le Parc Suites”:http://www.leparcsuites.com/. I think this place had its best moments 10 years ago. Not terrible, the service levels were good, the street is nice, but the facility is aging and probably wasn’t great to start with.

From walking around, where we should have stayed (kitchen a requirement):
* “Palihouse”:http://www.palihouse.com/suites.asp?st=5. Looks very cool and good kitchens. Not as nice a street location as Le Parc but looks way awesomer.
* “Petit Ermitage”:http://www.petitermitage.com/home.php. Also full kitchens.

Close but lacking a real kitchen:
* “LeMontrose Suite Hotel”:http://www.lemontrose.com/accommodations/amenities.php. Kitchenette type facilities
* “Chamberlain”:http://www.chamberlainwesthollywood.com/accommodations/index.html. Kitchenette as well in some rooms

Santa Monica Places

john

* Urth Cafe — sandwiches, salads, coffee, tea, breakfast too, and open at dinner time. Nice baked goods too
* Bravo Pizza
* Cha Cha Chicken — WAY better than the website. A favorite
* Lula Mexicana — good authentic mexican. I am always a sucker for tamales
* Shoop’s Deli. Solid sandwich and salad fare, closed at dinner
* Bergamot Station — good collection of galleries, easy to walk around
* The Bridge Cinema. Ok not in Santa Monica at all, in Culver City, nice high end theatre. Reserved seating which is cool.

All over the place — Distilleries of Scotland, DC, Bullets, Games, Doghouses, Golf, Currency, and more

john

Fairmont Kea Lani – Maui Seaside Hotel at Polo Beach

john

Maui Hotels: Fairmont Kea Lani – Maui Seaside Hotel at Polo Beach — okay this place is stupidly expensive and they nickel and dime you to deal (except of course nothing costs a nickel here, they $10 and $20 you to death). But…they have amazing support for people with food allergies — they strictly adhere to an ingredients list you provide, use dedicate pots and pans, your food is cooked by a sous or head chef, served by a manager, the assistant head of food service will meet with you daily to discuss menus, etc etc. Really an amazing service and has made it possible for us to stay here — recommended if you have a food allergy or allergies to deal with. And when I travel in the future, I will ask hotels if they have an equivalent program.

Awesome weekend on Lopez

john

We had a great weekend. Some people that made it possible:

* Paraclete Charter Service – Your charter and ferry service to the San Juan Islands, Washington
* Everyone at Greene Partners — great job on our place. Just a great design at every level that really worked for us, and super people who helped us with so much more.
* Jennifer Randall & Associates — also a great job on our place. Everything from broad schemes to little details were just awesome, and again great people.
* Ravenhill Construction — also a great job on our place. The workmanship, fit and finish were all great.
* On-Site Island Services — super job getting everything ready
* Vita’s — awesome takeout and a nice wine recommendation
* Alwyn at Rhythm Auto Repair — provided us with wheels, very appreciated.

Can’t wait to get back.

Dream Trip to Chile

john

Haven’t had much opportunity to travel in the last year but hopefully will get the chance to do so. In the meantime there are some trips I am dying to take and I might as well collect all the links so I can quickly organize when I get the chance.

I’ve been dying to go to Chile for many years now. The natural beauty really calls to me. The highlight of my trip will be an Earth River expedition in Patagonia. This pretty much pins the trip to the Chilean summer months — December thru March.

Certainly I’ll want to spend time before or after the river in and around Santiago — some online guides:

* NYtimes
* ContactChile
* CIA factbook on Chile
* Consular Information Sheet from the state department
* Fodor’s, World Travel Guide, TripAdvisor

And then probably will want to get out of Santiago and see one other part of the country…not sure where…maybe should stay in Lake District a while at end of rafting trip tho maybe I’d be all watered out at that point? Or maybe Valparaiso and Vina del Mar in central Chile — here is one guy’s idea of an itinerary. Easter Island would be a fascinating choice too but that just doesn’t feel to me like really getting to know Chile. Maybe the wine district — stay at Termas Jahuel.